Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Reader -- Take 2

So, the truth is, I wasn't crazy about it. I thought the ending (which I won't spoil) was very appropriate to the story, but my fear that the entire book would be rather self-indulgent unfortunately came true. (Example: the narrator compares himself to the Holocaust victims because he was "betrayed" by the woman he loved, who worked for the SS during WWII.)

But the writing was pretty good, and I liked the way the author pointed out some little things in life that are so true, but don't seem particularly interesting or significant until someone writes about it. (Example: there's a section where the narrator is complaining that he can't sleep, so he sits up at night reading. As his eyes and his book start to close, he realizes what is happening, shuts the book, and turns off the light. As soon as the light is off, though, he's wide awake again. That happens to me all the time!)

Anyway, two good things I can say about the book are (1) that it was a pretty quick listen, and (2) it made my plane rides more entertaining than they otherwise would have been.

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